Cool, Calm and Collected

It seems only fitting to be talking about staying COOL, CALM and COLLECTED since we are currently in the middle of a record-breaking heat wave. There has been no shortage of people weighing in on how to stay healthy, safe and cool during extreme heat. This is not, however, what prompted me to write this blog. I cannot stop thinking about the 12 young soccer players and their 25 year old coach who have been trapped in a cave in Thailand for nearly two weeks now. If you have been following this story as I have, then you know that the boys (ages 11-16) were on a team excursion when the entrance to the cave got flooded and they became trapped inside. It took 9 days for rescuers to find them and they are saying that due to the dire and dangerous conditions, it could be months before they are able to get them out and home safely. Despite the fact that they had been trapped 2.5 miles from the entrance to the cave in claustrophobic conditions without food, water, light and all of the other necessities, when the Thailand Navy SEALS reached the team, their spirits were high and their optimism was intact. Have you thought for a minute about how that is possible?

This whole thing is reminiscent of the events of the 2010 mining disaster in Chili that trapped 33 coal miners underground for 69 days. If you haven't seen the movie The 33, and you are in the mood for an inspiring disaster-survival story, I highly recommend you watch it. What we now know about the 33 miners is that one or two of them took on the role of "Chief Operating Cheerleader" in order to keep the crew alive. I can only imagine that the same thing happened in that cave in Thailand. One or more boys on that team, perhaps along with the coach, likely took on the role of pumping up the others with positivity, encouragement and maybe even humor for the 9 days that they were waiting to be found. Even though the conditions are too dangerous for the boys to now be evacuated from the cave (to get out they need to navigate through flooded waters using full climbing gear, with parts too narrow to wear a scuba tank and a nearly 100-foot underwater dive which would be a difficult task for even the most experienced divers, let alone a group of boys who don't know how to swim), the rescuers are very surprised at the resiliency and high spirits of the team.

Now an expert team of divers has been brought in to not only help get the boys out, but also to teach each soccer play how to swim, dive and use scuba gear. While their families and the world are watching, waiting and praying, we have been assured that the team is in the most capable hands. This is because Thailand officials called in this elite team of expert divers who are considered the best in Europe. The two "A-team" British divers, who are responsible for saving many people over the years, are known as much for their COOL, CALM and COLLECTED reserve as they are for their expert diving skills.

There are so many life lessons wrapped up in this story. I won't even touch the elephant in the room which is "stay away from caves". Instead, let's talk about how life-saving it can be to stay calm under pressure and have the resiliency of spirit to remain hopeful, upbeat and energized. Hopefully none of us will ever find ourselves in a situation like that of the trapped soccer team. We can, however, think of them as we tackle our own challenges each and every day. Instead of letting the weather and heat get us down, we can choose to remain positive and perhaps even grateful for this stretch of extremely hot weather. When faced with a difficult task or a pressure-filled situation, we can be hopeful and focus on not giving in to catastrophic "worst-case scenario" thinking. Experts say that managing emotions and staying calm under pressure are directly linked to performance. Research shows that 90% of top performers are skilled at managing their emotions in times of stress in order to remain calm and in control.

So if you are concerned about something coming up in your life (a big presentation? a job interview? an appointment with your doctor?), and you think you are going to crumble under the pressure, all you have to do is immunize yourself against the injurious effects of the pressure. Be your own cheerleader, act as cool and calm as a navy SEAL, or think like a strong, brave, teenaged soccer player and distract yourself from thinking any anxiety-arousing thoughts.

Changing your mindset could be life-changing for you. It could also help insure that you will be COOL, CALM and COLLECTED when it matters the most.